


flower petals

by malfoys



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Riverdale, barchie, betty x archie, riverdale tv
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 02:30:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13203867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malfoys/pseuds/malfoys
Summary: the hanahaki disease — in which the patient throws up and coughs flower petals whilst suffering one-sided love. in order to fully recover from illness, the patient’s love must be fulfilled (e.g. given back).warning: can die from blocked airways && restricted breathing. can cough up flower petals && (maybe) blood.— in which betty cooper is in love with archie andrews.





	flower petals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys :~) since there's not a lot of betty x archie fic, i've decided to write one [mostly because i'm sad and i need some soft betty and archie in my life]
> 
> notes:  
> 1\. this is basically riverdale w/o all the mystery + murder [OTHER THAN THE MURDER OF A HEART]  
> 2\. there will be mentions of betty x jughead + archie x ronnie [both of which i respectfully don't ship]  
> 3\. sighs, there will be mentions of archie with basically every riverdale character, too [why, archie?? keep yr hands to yrself]  
> 4\. **the purpose of this is basically to feed into our sad angst for betty && archie, ok!!**

Betty Cooper needed a dosage of medicine. No - unfortunately, she didn’t need a prescription, much less see a doctor. It was worse, it was Archie Andrews. And that was a tragedy in itself.

 **6 : 2 5 A. M.**

She held a delicate petal in her palms. Today, they decided to be a piercing red. It reminded her of a certain someone’s blush that crept up his ears when he was laughing. She could hear the echo of his laugh in her ears, it reminded her of a symphony. It reminded her of what she couldn’t have. 

The flower petal slid between her fingers and fell into the waste bin, filled with the other flower petals that she threw up. Betty didn’t know what to do. 

Wasn’t it supposed to be a myth? She spent hours researching about the Hanahaki disease - instead of writing her history paper - and found nothing particularly useful. After going to the library, she found a book of myths, one of which contained the disease. It was an a tale from a foreign land, covered in layers of dust and forgotten memories. 

Betty Cooper only knew of the cause and remedy for this disease. And that gave her heart palpitations. She started having the disease just a few days before the summer ended, exactly when Archie Andrews came back from his summer job at the construction site. 

She sighed and stared at her reflection. Her cheeks were flushed from color and she saw the bags hang under her eyes. She swallowed to clear her throat from any excess of flower petals. Gripping the edge of the sink, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Today is just another day.

...Except that it was the first day of school and she was finally going to see Archie in person. Was she excited? She wasn’t even sure herself. The nights leading up to today comprised of polite texts and quick glances out the window, where she felt her (soft but dangerous) feelings come back for a certain red-headed boy. And this time, she didn’t want to be hurt.

**7 : 3 0 A. M.**

She slung her bag over her shoulder, walking over to her locker. She was anxious to see Kevin, to maybe tell him about her disease. So far, Betty didn’t tell anybody because she was afraid of judgement and her realizing her darkest fear: that Archie wouldn’t feel the same way. 

Betty couldn’t find Kevin yet, so she took out her textbook and prayed to herself that he would come first before she would have to face Archie. From the corner of her eye, she saw a figure walking towards her and deduced it was probably (most likely) Kevin. Except that it wasn’t probably (most likely) Kevin.

“Hey Kev, so I’ve got something to tell you. It may no-” Betty started talking about her current issue until a voice cleared his throat.

“And you have something to tell Kevin, not me?” Archie pretended to be hurt and clutched his heart. Betty widened her eyes and tried to say something but she felt her breaths replaced with petals in her body. “What has our friendship come to?”

She winced when she heard the word. Yes, that word. Friendship. It made her feel uneasy and her throat felt scratchy. But she pushed her looming thoughts away and tried to smile at his innocent face. 

“Please, Arch. Unless you’ve been here all summer, don’t talk to me.” Betty teased him and pretended that something in her locker was of more interest than Archie himself. Her ponytail fell down on her shoulders as her lips tugged up. Archie stepped in a little closer (too dangerous, she thought) and gently rested his palm on her shoulder. 

“Betty, I’m sorry. You know I would’ve rather spent the entire summer with y-” Archie attempted to apologize but Betty cut him off.  
“Hey, you know I was joking, right?” Betty closed her locker and finally looked at his face again. 

Today, he reminded of her a laceleaf flower. The petals emerge a brilliant red, just like the passion that runs in his veins. The leaves turn into a gentle bronze-green, like how the edges of his jaw are imprinted from the sun itself. Sometimes, the petals brazenly turn into a crimson color, like how a piece of his hair falls on his forehead so softly.

“But I still feel bad, Betts,” He pressed his lips and his eyes lit up. “I know what will make this up. Some fries and milkshakes at Pop’s!”

“Yeah…” Her voice trailed off as he slung his arm around her shoulders. She felt a petal get caught in her throat. “That sounds great, Archie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo yo yO so like, if you didn't hate it and you want me to write more, please leave a comment (maybe)???   
> i kinda wrote this in the spur of the moment and it's obvi not the best but i'm trying to improve :~)) couldn't help passing up an opportunity for writing a cute lil fic for my beans :^))


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